Christopher Nolan's “Odyssey” will be the most controversial film of the year Here's what seems to be failing to win over audiences regarding one of the most anticipated releases of 2026
When last May the second official trailer of Odissey was released, many viewers noticed a curious detail: in Christopher Nolan’s new film all characters speak American English. A choice that surprised part of the audience, so much so that the Hollywood Reporter commented saying that «it almost feels like being in Ohio».
In Hollywood productions set in the past, there has long been the convention that characters almost always speak British English, and not American English. The rule is so widespread that it also applies to the fantasy genre: the dialogues in Game of Thrones, for example, are all characterized by a marked English accent, which has now become the “natural” register of this type of story even when the production is American.
Why doesn’t the accent in Odissey convince?
@raidersofthelostpodcast American accents have always existed in historical epics #theodysseymovie #christophernolan #movies #theodyssey #tomholland original sound - Raiders of the Lost Podcast
The reason why the American English used in Odissey has sparked so much debate is that Nolan has broken a convention that much of the English-speaking audience had, in a sense, internalized. In historical films, British English has long been the “neutral” language used to evoke distant eras in which many languages and dialects would be mixed. Moreover, this accent has long been considered in the film industry as more authoritative and elegant than American English.
In addition, in the second trailer of Odissey part of the audience was puzzled by the use of certain expressions considered too modern for a film set in antiquity: for example, the character of Antinous played by Robert Pattinson at one point uses the term “daddy”, while in another scene he shouts «Let’s go!».
The debate generated by the use of American English in Odissey is not new in the industry: a few years ago even Denzel Washington was criticized by many users for acting in Gladiator II with his American accent. The New York actor explained that he made this choice because he would not have felt comfortable portraying his character with a different and more specific inflection.
Odissey is causing discussion
Odissey is the thirteenth film by Christopher Nolan and is probably the most anticipated movie of the year. The cast includes some of Hollywood’s most respected actors, including Matt Damon (Odysseus), Tom Holland (Telemachus), Zendaya (Athena) and Charlize Theron (Calypso), among many others.
Nolan’s casting choices have generated various controversies, most of them largely unfounded. For example, the British director was criticized for giving an unspecified male role to transgender actor Elliot Page, or for casting Travis Scott in a minor role.
Elon Musk also publicly attacked Nolan, claiming that he cast Black actress Lupita Nyong’o (who will play both Helen and Clytemnestra) in order to curry favor with the Academy – in reality Nyong’o is one of the most talented and acclaimed actresses of her generation, winner of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years a Slave.
A few months ago, however, Nolan did not hide that he considers making Odissey a “huge responsibility”, because the Homeric epic «is not simply a story, it is the story».